Aldi Expands Instacart SNAP Program to More Stores

Aldi is increasing food access for more Americans via it's EBT SNAP partnership with Instacart.

The grocer is expanding its Electronic Benefit Transfer and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (EBT SNAP) initiative with Instacart by adding the service to nearly 1,000 more Aldi stores across 23 states and Washington, D.C. This latest expansion follows the USDA Food and Nutrition Service's most recent approval allowing Instacart and ALDI to expand this online EBT SNAP pilot.

The expansion comes at a time when the pandemic and its resulting recession have exacerbated food insecurity across the U.S. Several grocers including H-E-B, Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons and others are rushing to launch or expand online SNAP ordering for shoppers.

"Our mission is to create a world where everyone has access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Today, we're proud to further our mission and continue our commitment to being a long-term solution for EBT SNAP households across America," said Andrew Nodes, VP/Retail at Instacart. "As the country continues to grapple with COVID-19, we recognize the important role Instacart and its retail partners play in making same-day grocery delivery and pickup available to more people nationwide. We're proud of the work we've done with ALDI and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to unlock EBT SNAP online payments for more families, and we look forward to continuing to expand this important program."

The expansion includes the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, D.C., West Virginia and Wisconsin. Today's expansion follows the initial rollout of the program across more than 60 store locations in Georgia, which launched in mid-November, and more than 570 stores across California, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas, which launched in early-December.

"Aldi is proud to be the first grocery retailer to accept EBT SNAP benefits as a form of payment online via Instacart for grocery delivery and curbside pickup," said Scott Patton, VP/national customer interaction services for Aldi U.S. "This service is now available at nearly 90% of Aldi stores, across 29 states and Washington, D.C., following successful pilots in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas."

As part of this new program, EBT SNAP participants in the available states will be able to shop from Aldi via the Instacart online site and mobile app. Once an Instacart customer profile is created, customers can enter their EBT food card information as a form of payment in their profile. Customers will need a secondary form of payment for non-food items such as taxes, tips and fees per SNAP guidelines. Customers can then enter their zip code to determine if they are near a participating Aldi store, and begin shopping and selecting items from Aldi's EBT SNAP-eligible products. Once items are added to their cart, customers will be able to select how much of their benefits they would like to allocate to the order. Aldi delivery and pickup via Instacart will be available daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and orders for delivery and pickup can be placed by customers for receipt in as fast as an hour or scheduled for days in advance.

New with this expansion and to help subsidize costs for EBT SNAP beneficiaries, during a 90 day period that started Dec. 16, Instacart will waive delivery and/or pickup fees on up to the first three EBT SNAP orders for each customer with a valid EBT card associated with their Instacart account.

Aldi began offering delivery service via Instacart in 2018. With more than 2,000 stores across 36 states, Aldi U.S. is No. 26 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Instacart has partnered with more than 500 national, regional and local retailers to deliver from nearly 40,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Instacart’s delivery service is available to more than 85% of U.S. households and 70% of Canadian households.